Augusta Update: Who Is Darla Moore?

Darla Moore speaks to students at the University of South Carolina in 2011.

By Melissa Korn and Leslie Kwoh

Darla Moore and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday were named the first two women ever admitted to the 80-year-old Augusta National Golf Club, following growing criticism over the last decade about the club’s all-male membership. In accepting the invitation, Moore said it was a “very happy and important occasion” to be able to join her “many friends” who are already members of the organization.

Here’s a bit more about Moore.

She’s not a total surprise:

Moore, age 58, is a longtime friend of Hootie Johnson, former chairman of Augusta. They both graduated from the University of South Carolina and worked together on a $300 million fundraising campaign for their alma mater in the late 1990s, according to Associated Press in 2002. While she would joke with Johnson about becoming the club’s first female member, even back then, she was “too much of a friend” to push the issue, Moore’s father told the AP. Friends told the AP Moore didn’t play much golf, though her husband — investor, Richard Rainwater — played every day.

But her acceptance of the offer might be a bit of a reversal:

When asked whether she would accept an invitation to join August about a decade ago, she told The Wall Street Journal, “I’m as progressive as they come. But some things ought not to be messed with.”

She’s a banking legend:

Moore rose up the ranks at Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan Chase) in the 1980s, a pioneer of debtor-in-possession financing used in bankruptcy proceedings. She’s been called the “Queen of DIP.”

She’s married to a billionaire:

Her husband, Richard Rainwater, founder of Rainwater Inc. is a regular on the Forbes list of billionaires (net worth: $2.3 billion as of March 2012). A graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Rainwater managed the investment portfolio of the Bass family in the 1970s and 1980s before starting his own fund in 1986, according to CNBC. In 2009, he was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative neurological disease, according to Fortune. The typical life expectancy is less than five years, his doctor said, according to Fortune. As of last November, he required 24-hour care.

She’s known for her fearless personality:

Fortune magazine, in featuring her on its cover in 1997, called her “The Toughest Babe in Business.” After marrying Rainwater, she took charge of his company and nearly tripled his net worth in just three years with her aggressive deal-making. “I’ve harassed guys all my life,” Moore told Fortune.

She’s busy:

Moore is vice president of Rainwater Inc. In 2002, Moore founded the nonprofit Palmetto Institute, a nonpartisan think tank aimed at improving economic growth in South Carolina. She currently serves as chair of the organization. Moore also serves on the board of trustees of the NYU Langone Medical Center and the national board of directors of Teach for America.

She’s connected:

Moore previously served on the boards of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Hospital Corporation of America, The South Financial Group, MPS Group and the National Advisory Board of JP Morgan, among others.

She’s given generously to higher education:

Moore has pledged $70 million to her alma mater, the University of South Carolina, since 1998. The university’s business school was renamed the Darla Moore School of Business after her initial $25 million gift. Despite that, Gov. Nikki Haley removed Moore from the university’s board of trustees last year, replacing her with a campaign donor, according to local TV station WISTV.) She also donated $10 million to Clemson University’s School of Education in 2003. The school was renamed the Eugene T. Moore School of Education in honor of her father, a teacher and principal.

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